Civil Partnerships

So today is the day that same-sex civil partnerships become legal in the UK. Needless to say, most of the UK media is carrying the story, although the Daily Telegraph is somewhat stingy with its coverage, preferring instead to concentrate on Christianity.

 

Hopefully, at some point the law will permit full civil marriages, just as here in The Netherlands, but this is a good start.

 

And for those who think that the institution of marriage is somehow under attack, a review through history will show that marriage has always had a wide range of expression. My favourite of these historical examples is also the very earliest: the tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep – dating from around 2,400 BC. Although even here we’re not free of the stereotypes, it would seem. They are both described in the hieroglyphs as having the title of "Overseer of the manicurists in the palace of the King". Honestly, if we’re not all supposed to be screaming hairdressers or make-up artists, we’re bloody manicurists…